


Mason Jars & Fifty Percent

by Steves-On-A-Plane (PrincessTriSarahTops)



Series: Bruce Banner Bingo Filled Sqaures (2019) [4]
Category: Bruce Banner - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:13:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23195299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessTriSarahTops/pseuds/Steves-On-A-Plane
Summary: Reader and Bruce have been on a few dates when they realize they’ve never discussed their careers in great detail. Would they really be able to make things work if one of them is a cynical divorced attorney and the other is a romantic wedding planner?
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Reader
Series: Bruce Banner Bingo Filled Sqaures (2019) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1425925
Kudos: 6
Collections: Bruce Banner Bingo 2019





	Mason Jars & Fifty Percent

Your relationship was very Mr. and Mrs. Smith if Angelia Jolie had played a cynical divorce lawyer and Brad Pitt’s Mr. Smith has been a lovesick wedding planner. It was unbelievable how the two of you had managed your double act for so long. Maybe, you thought one night over dinner, that the success had come from the secret of not knowing what each other’s profession was.

“You know, I just realized,” Your boyfriend Bruce observed as he glanced over the menu. “This is our fifth date and we never once talked about our careers. I mean I know that you’re a lawyer, but what sort of law do you practice?”

“Yeah…” You looked up from your menu awkwardly. “I usually try to avoid the topic until I get to know someone, but I mean we’ve talked about your job before, right? You’re an event planner. At least that’s what I remember you saying.”

“Well that’s the general idea.” He said, now looking up from his own menu. “But I really specialize in one particular event, weddings.”

“You’re a _wedding_ planner?” You practically coughed on the word.

“Well, yeah.” He smiled uncomfortably. “Everyone loves weddings. The fresh cut flowers, the intricate decorations, all the things a person can do with mason jars!”

“Ugh, the mason jars are the worst part!” You rolled your eyes. “Everyone _hates_ weddings! You get stuck at a table full of people you don’t know, the food is always bland as hell, the music is terrible and it’s all pointless because 50% of all marriages end in divorce.”

“50% is better than all!” He countered. “And sure, the wedding isn’t everything, but it’s the start of everything! For one magic day I get to give two people everything they’ve ever dreamed of. They could be a fairytale come true or pirates on the high seas or any number of fantastic fantasies.”

“And that’s just what it is a fantasy. Weddings are an illusion and once the dust settles and the illusion’s worn off, your happy couple ends up in _my_ office.” You complained.

“Your office?” Bruce leaned back in his seat, scandalized. “You’re a divorce attorney. Well if you hate weddings, and by proxy love, so much why are we on this date right now?”

“Just because I don’t like marriage doesn’t mean I can’t go on dates and have a little bit of fun.” You answered.

“If all I am is a little bit of fun, I think we should stop things now before we get ahead of ourselves.” Bruce set his menu down and began putting on his coat. You glanced back down at your menu, prepared to let him walk out. You’d been planning to have a nice dinner at this restaurant for weeks. You weren’t going to let the fact that you were suddenly dateless stop you. Still, as you watched him walk away, you couldn’t help but feel guilt and regret already burning inside you.

You took the night to think things over. Bruce had a point. Why had you allowed the relationship to go on for so long if you were only ever interested in a fun little fling? Why had you been so ashamed to tell him about your job? Sure, you didn’t mention it to anyone on a first date before, but you’d also never waited so long to bring it up. The truth was that you hoped he’d never ask. You went to bed that night with your mind brimming with questions.

In the morning you returned to your office as if it were any other day. You were greeted by your all too cheerful assistant, Steven and plethora of messages that had built up over the weekend. You went into your office and sank into your chair. You unpacked your laptop and began reading your emails for the day. There was a knock at the door. Steven appeared and offered to go out for coffees. You told him that would be fine and returned to work.

You had placed your cellphone screen side up on your desk. The screen was dark, just like it had been last night. It seemed Bruce had been serious about stopping before things went too far. He hadn’t tried to call or text since leaving the restaurant. Not even so much as an emoji. Twenty minutes passed and though your attention was mostly on your work you hadn’t been able to full shake Bruce from your mind.

“Uh, [Y/N]?” You heard Stephen’s voice as he returned to your office. Normally he’d slip in quietly with your coffee and place your mug in front of you before sneaking back out. It also didn’t normally take him twenty minutes to make a coffee. You looked up to see what was wrong, immediately spotting a foreign cup in his hands. “It seems something happened to your mug last night while the cleaners were here. I had to improvise this morning.” Steve place the cup in front of you and tried to disappear as soon as his hand disconnected from the handle.

“Who the hell has a clear glass coffee mug?” You commented as you reached for the beverage. You stopped with your hand hovering just inches away as you got a closer look at the glass “coffee mug.” In your opinion calling it a coffee mug was a very loose use of the term. The object next to your laptop was no coffee mug at all. It was instead a mason jar with a handle. _All the things a person can do with mason jars!_ You found yourself chuckling, a chuckle that turned into laughter. Why the hell was there a mason jar in your office? The irony was too much.

Staring intently at the mason jar, you knew that you owed Bruce an apology. You just hoped he’d still care enough to hear it. Unsurprisingly he didn’t answer when you called. You left him a voicemail anyway.

“Bruce, I owe you an apology and I know it’s already overdue, but if you could find it in you to indulge me, I’d like to meet you for lunch. I have some things I want to say that shouldn’t be left in a voicemail. So, I guess let me know if you’re free.” You ended the call, placed your phone screen side up again and waited. Yu almost given up hope when a text message notification flashed across your screen.

**I’m looking at venues with a client until noon. I can meet at your office at 1.**

You texted back a very grateful “thank you” and returned to work. You could make it until one o’clock without completely losing your mind, right? The next four hours were agonizing, but you had enough work to keep you busy the entire time. You really only thought of Bruce when you spotted your phone, or the mason jar out of the corner of your eye.

At twelve thirty Steven announced there was a man outside claiming to have a meeting with you. You told him to let the man in and braced yourself to see Bruce again for the first time since your conversation the night before. You wanted to comment right off the bat that you felt Bruce wasn’t playing fairly. He’d arrived looking very professional in a charcoal grey suit and blue dress shirt. His hair was styled in the way he always wore it an effortless waviness to it that you were sure had to take lots of hair protect to perfect. He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept much more than you last night.

“I was promised an apology.” He said, not moving from the door.

“Would you like to sit down?” You invited, gesturing toward the two empty chairs across from you. “I can have Steven bring you a coffee...”

“Will it come in a mason jar?” He asked, still not moving from the door. “Because you know, mason jars are the worst.”

“Ok, I deserve that one, I admit it.” You nodded getting up from your desk. You walked over to the small couch on the adjacent wall and invited him to sit again. He seemed hesitant, but finally moved away from the door to sit next to you.

“You know, maybe I’m the one who should apologize.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “We never said we were a serious thing, so this whole thing is on me. I overreacted last night.”

“No, no.” You assured him. “It was me. I wasn’t always like this so, cynical about love. People aren’t born to hate love. But my parents were divorced when I was young. I thought it was just them. I thought there was just something about them that didn’t work. I always swore I’d never let their relationship define my own opinions of love. I’ve even been in love once or twice. And nothing like my fiancé William. Will was, he was everything I ever thought I wanted. He ticked off every little box from the checklist in my mind. But either I stopped being shiny and new or I just wasn’t worth keeping around because he left me. So did my second Fiancé Taylor and after that I just decided I wasn’t going to wait and see if the third time was a charm.”

“You’ve got baggage.” Bruce nodded. “I get it, we all have something. But that doesn’t mean you should give up on ever finding love. If those guys could leave so easily, they might not have been worth keeping around anyway. I mean I was really hurt when I walked out of that restaurant last night, but I still couldn’t stop thinking about you all morning. My-my client is complaining to me because her daughter can’t possibly have her wedding anywhere without at least six chandeliers and all I could think about was how I was going to miss that little smirk you make when you win an argument!”

“I don’t...That’s not the point. The point is that I’ve felt sick to my stomach ever since I let you walk away last night. I know now that I _love_ you.” You confessed. “I was kidding myself thinking that this was just a fling, that I wouldn’t get attached to you. You’re so full of light! When I’m around you I don’t think about my past. I don’t think of all the ways that I’ve been hurt or how I could get hurt again. I’m thinking about your laugh, or the way that your eyes crinkle just the slightest when you smile. And honestly, I think about your hair _a lot._ How do you get it so perfect?”

“My h-it’s gel mostly.” He confessed running a hand through his own hair. “Wait did you just say you love me?”

“I-ah-yeah. I did.” You cast your eyes downward. You couldn’t look at him. “I know its too soon and it’s corny.”

“Babe,” He laughed. You looked up in time to see that crinkle beneath his eyes. “I’m a wedding planner, corny is what I live for.” He glanced down at his watch. “Say we’ve still got some time. What do you say I take you to a real lunch?”

“You still want to keep dating me?” You asked. “Even though I just dumped all that stuff on you and technically I never really apologized?”

“You didn’t dump anything on me.” He promised, getting to his feet. “You were opening up to me about your past and explaining why you’d reacted so severely last night. Who could fault you for that? And truthfully, I never expected you to apologize. You told me on your first date that you never apologize because it admits guilt.”

“Hey, any good lawyer knows you never admit guilt if you want to win.” You shrugged, also getting to your feet. Bruce offered you his hand and you took it eagerly.

“Just promise me one thing,” he said as the two of you started to leave your office. “If we get married, mason jars will not be involved in any capacity.” You couldn’t stop yourself from changing your expression to the lopsided smirk that Bruce loved so much.

“I knew it! No one likes mason jars that much!” You said. “But I kind of like the idea of having at least six chandeliers…”

“I’ll see what I can do.” He chuckled.


End file.
